Naruto: Take Two
by teenagewriter
Summary: Everyone always makes Jiraiya out to be a self-centered man who abandons Naruto for his own pleasures. I, however, like to come up with a different theory. While this topic may be overused, this story is about what happens when Jiraiya takes in Naruto at an earlier age and becomes Naruto's father-figure. Rated T for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Everyone always makes Jiraiya out to be a self-centered man who abandons Naruto for his own pleasures. I, however, like to come up with a different theory. Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any affiliated characters.**

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><p>As it was a few days before his 7th birthday, Naruto was scrummaging for extra food so he would be able to eat while hiding from the villagers. Naruto has been beaten almost daily for as long as he can remember, but his birthday, October 10th was always the worst. Managing to find a few scraps of food, Naruto brings his findings to a small cave he found after being kicked out of the orphanage a year ago. While he has no money, Naruto has managed to touch up the place with a few odds and ends he's found on the side of the road.<p>

Before he has to hid, Naruto decides to see if Old Man Teuchi and Ayame will give him a little bit of ramen for supper.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Hiruzen is sitting in his office glaring at all the paperwork he had to do when one of his old students suddenly comes in. "Jiraiya-kun! How have you been? It's been a while since you last visited."

"Fine, sensei. Where's my godson?" Jiraiya was livid. He had stopped by the orphanage on his way to the Hokage tower but was angered when he had heard the news that Naruto had been kicked out a year ago.

"Isn't he at the orphanage?"

"He was kicked out a YEAR ago! I thought you had ANBU looking out for him!"

"Well, I-"

"No. I'm taking my godson with me when I leave."

"I can't let you do that; the council will have a fuss! When would you even bring him back?!"

"I can and I will. The only reason he comes back is _if_ he wants to come back. It's his decision." With that, Jiraiya walked out of Hiruzen's office in search of Naruto.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I can only afford to give you one bowl of ramen." Teuchi felt bad. He knew Naruto needed more food than the scraps he normally found, but by giving the so-called "demon child" free food, Teuchi loses business.

Right as Naruto was about to leave, a large hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Ya know, kid, you're hard to find!"

Naruto looked up to see an older man take a seat beside him. "_You_ were looking for _me_?" Naruto didn't know what to think. Normally, when people went looking for him it was to hurt him; this man seemed friendly.

"Why of course! You and I need to have a chat. But first, I think lunch is in order; whatever you want, it's on me!" Naruto didn't know this man yet, but how could he give up free food?"

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Naruto thanked the man and started to leave when he heard his name called out.

"Hey! Naruto! Where do you think you're going, kid? My name is Jiraiya by the way."

"I was going back to my home…" Naruto mumbled. After a full meal, a nap sounded like a good plan.

"Well, we still need to talk, so how about you come over to my place for the night. You look like you could use a bath and a good night's sleep anyhow." Naruto nodded and graciously followed Jiraiya back to his home.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

As Jiraiya let Naruto into his house, he gave a brief description of the layout. "The spare bedroom and bath is just down this hall, second door on the right. Why don't you clean up and I'll make sure you have some clean clothes to change into." As Naruto bathed, Jiraiya quickly washed and dried his clothes, making a mental note to get him some more before they left.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Naruto walked into the sitting room to find Jiraiya waiting for him. "How do you know me?"

"That is what I wanted to talk to you about, Naruto." Naruto simply nodded and sat down, ready to listen.

"Like I said, my name is Jiraiya. I'm one of the Leaf's Sannin, but more importantly, I knew your father." Naruto's eyes widened at this. "The council doesn't want you to know anything of what I'm about to tell you, but I feel you have a right to know. Your father was my student, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze. He, along with your mother Kushina Uzumaki, died the night you were born. They were killed the night the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked the village. The Kyuubi is a mass of chakra and cannot be killed. In order to defeat it, your father did the only thing he could think of and sealed it away. The Kyuubi is too strong to seal it into an object; it would simply just break out. Instead Minato sealed it into a newborn baby. As much as he hated himself for it, your father sealed the Kyuubi in you; believing he couldn't ask another parent to give up his or her child when he could not do it himself and knew that you would be able to handle it. Both of your parents loved you very much and would be horrified at the treatment you have received. While your father wished for you to be seen as a hero for holding back the Nine-Tailed Fox, many villagers believe that you are just a reincarnation of the Kyuubi. Their actions are not justified, but they treat you the way they do because they are scared. However, you, yourself are NOT the Kyuubi. Naruto looked shaken. At this point, Jiraiya pulled out a kunai knife and a simple sealing scroll. Holding up the kunai, Jiraiya asked, "Naruto, what is this?"

"A kunai knife."

"Correct. And this?" This time the scroll was held up.

"A scroll…" Jiraiya then proceeded to seal the knife within the scroll."

"Alright, now how about this."

"A scroll with a kunai knife sealed inside."

"It's not a knife…?"

"No, the knife is inside. This is just a scroll."

"Exactly. See, Naruto, the villagers are wrong. You are not the Kyuubi, it is simply sealed inside of you, understand?" Naruto nodded, finally understanding why he had been treated the way he had. "Do you have any questions?" Naruto thought for a little while then nodded. "Alright, ask away."

"You said you knew my father, but how do you know me?"

"Your father named me as your godfather."

"If you're my godfather, where have you been? Why did I have to live in the orphanage if I had family?"

"I have a very important job as a Spymaster. I had asked Sarutobi if I could bring you with me but the council rejected it. They didn't think all of my traveling would be a good environment for a baby. They opted to put you in the orphanage under your mother's maiden name to keep you safe. I only agreed to it because Sarutobi promised me he would always have someone watching out for you, making sure you ate well and had a place to stay."

"Well, that wasn't the case. Why didn't you come sooner?"

"I came back to give Sarutobi a report since I was in the area. Until now, he always sent me letters updating me on your situation."

"What's gonna happen to me now?"

"I'm taking you with me and after your birthday I will start training you to be a ninja."

"REALLY?!" Naruto jumped up at the thought of becoming a ninja. When he could, he sneaked over to the Academy and watched the kids learning to fight. "But I thought you couldn't take me with you."

"Yeah, well, I don't care. They can't treat my godson like this and expect to get away with it. Tomorrow we are going to get you some new clothes and then set out on our journey! But first, I think we both need a good night's sleep." With that, both Jiraiya and Naruto headed to bed; Naruto dreaming about his upcoming trip.

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><p><strong>AN: And that's a wrap! Naruto might have seemed a bit OOC but I reason that fending for oneself for about a year makes way for a lot of maturing. Sorry for any spelling and/or grammar issues.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well, here's chapter two! Quick note, since I don't know that much about Japanese culture, the foods will be a mix between common Japanese and American food. I don't own Naruto or any affiliated characters.**

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><p>It was a new feeling for Naruto to wake up and find someone waiting for him with breakfast already made.<p>

"Good morning, gaki! You're just in time for breakfast!" With that, Jiraiya put down a bowl of miso soup with rice on the side. "I know it may not be extravagant, but it's a good filling meal before we leave." Naruto was beside himself. It's been a long time since he had a warm, home-cooked meal for breakfast; he practically inhaled it!

"Whoa! Slow down, son! There's more where that came from, but shoveling it down that fast will make you sick!" Naruto complied; feeling a strange tingling when Jiraiya said son.

When the two were done with breakfast and had cleaned up, Jiraiya spoke up. "Naruto, are there any personal items you'd like to take with?" Naruto thought about this for a minute. Everything he owned was holed up in his cave, although none of it was personal, he would like to clean it all up. "Before we go, could I make a quick stop?"

"Sure, but we also need to get you some new outfits and equipment." The two then started their day by heading to Naruto's old cave.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Jiraiya was shocked a felt a little guilty. While he knew Naruto probably didn't have the best living conditions considering his attire was filthy, he was saddened to see the cave his godson called home. _This is no place for a child, I should've checked on him sooner. _With these revelations, Jiraiya vowed to be the best father-figure he could be to Naruto. Satisfied that he had cleaned out his things from the cave; Naruto was ready to start an adventure with his new mentor. Sensing Naruto was ready to leave, Jiraiya led him to a shop he knew would give Naruto no trouble.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Nishio Toru looked up from his catalog when he heard the door to his shop open.

"Toru-san, it's been a while! What do you have in store for me today?"

"Well, Jiraiya-sama, I actually just got a new shipment of supplies yesterday. Oh, and who's this young lad?" Toru was shocked to see the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi in his shop. _He's not old enough to be an academy student yet, is he?_

"This is my student, Naruto. Naruto, this is Nishio Toru, weapon extraordinaire! If you ever need new shinobi gear or replace some equipment, Toru is the man to go to! Why don't you look around and find some things you like; Toru and I need to make a list of everything you'll need." Naruto just nodded, he was in awe of all the different ninja supplies around the room. Jiraiya smiled and turned back to Toru, lowering his voice a little bit.

"Jiraiya-sama, is he an academy student already? He looks so young…"

"No, Sarutobi-sensei, wasn't keeping watch on him like he said he was; Naruto's been living on the streets for a while now. I'll be leaving today and I'm taking Naruto with me. We won't be back for a while so if we need some things I'll just send a toad with money and a scroll like usual. Anyways, as you can probably tell, he needs some new clothes-durable, shinobi gear that won't get ruined as easily when he starts his training. He'll also need a few sealing scrolls and starter kunai and shuriken sets. Eventually I'll have him choose a primary weapon but for now he's just learning the basics." Toru nods, going over all the supplies he has in his head. "Why don't you help him pick out some shinobi gear and I'll gather all of his equipment. If something he likes doesn't fit right, I can easily make some adjustments too." Jiraiya nodded, grateful that not all villagers are pig-headed. "Hey, Naruto, why don't you come over to the clothes section? You can worry about the katanas and tantōs later!"

"Okay, I'm coming!"

"All right, so for starters, you'll need sleepwear, casual clothes, and training gear. Sleepwear is easy; all you really need is your boxers and a shirt. What's your favorite color?"

"Orange!"

"Rule number one: avoid bright colors and loud noises, they bring attention to you. You cannot have bright colored clothes. I will allow dull or dark oranges though." Naruto looked through the racks of sleepwear, pulling some shirts and a few pants. "Can I go try these on?"

"Yep, just make sure you show me how they fit. Clothes that are too tight or too loose will be a problem." After trying on the sleepwear, Naruto decided he liked five of the shirts and two of the pants. "Alright bud, if those are the ones you want, go put them on the counter and Toru will set them aside for you. Grab a few sets of boxers as well." As Naruto walked up to the counter, Jiraiya put back the unwanted items. "Now for casual wear, you'll need a little bit of everything: pants, shorts, t-shirts, long-sleeved shirts, etcetera, etcetera…" While it took longer than sleepwear, Naruto basically just picked anything that fit; he wasn't too picky, he was just happy to be getting new clothes. "Now comes the hard part, shinobi gear. Training can be rough, so you will need light yet durable clothes. By this time, Toru had gathered Naruto's equipment and joined the two again, making suggestions and adjustments when needed. Pretty soon, Naruto was almost set for his journey. There was just one thing left!

"Wait Naruto, while not many people wear it anymore, fishnet armor can be pretty useful."

"What is it used for?"

"While it can't completely prevent a blade from cutting you, it does stop it from digging in deeper. Fishnet requires a good fit though, so it's best if you try it on right here. Don't worry; nobody else can see you and I'll close my eyes if it makes you more comfortable. **(A/N: Jiraiya's not a pedo!) **Trusting Jiraiya, Naruto quickly took his shirt off to try on the fishnet. As he did so, Jiraiya couldn't help but to notice the faint scars on his back from the villagers' beatings. _Naruto, you will never have to experience that again. I promise you that._

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><p><strong>AN: Some cute little father-son(ish) moments in there… Now Naruto and Jiraiya are ready to leave Konoha! *Sorry for any spelling/grammar problems.**


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